Shoe.



NI. H. CLARK.

SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6. I9l5.

ll'atented Apr. 22,1919.

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-MYRON H. CLARK, or HAsTINes-UroN-HUDSON, Nnw YORK, AssreNon To THE eoonYnAHs METALLIC RUBBER sHOn COMPANY, A CORPORATION or coN- NEGTICU'T.

SHOE.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MYRON H. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hastings-upon-Hudson, county of Westchester, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShoes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. e

This invention relates to shoes and has for its'` primary object the building of a shoe of rubber and fabric after the style of the ordinary leather shoe but adhering to the methods followed in building rubber footwear thereby' making available the advantages possessed by the combined use of fabric and rubber while maintaining the general appearance of the ordinary shoe.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specificationl Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a shoe embodying my improvements;

Figs. 2 and 3 areviews of the toeportion similar to Fig.. 1, showing modilied forms of construction.

In the manufacture of shoes having cloth uppers and leather soles it is the usual pi'actice to secure the upper to the sole by stitching similar to securing the leather upper to a leather sole. The uppers are Acut about their lower edges according to a pattern to give them the required irregular contour to facilitate their being shaped andsecured to the sole. In cutting an upper composed of fabric in this manner, the threads composing the weavel are. caused to assume Various angles with relation to the line of stitching, so that when a strain is put upon them, they are likely to unravel, causing the fabric to break away from the stitching. Also in shoes of this type the upper being made of a limp, non-selfsupporting Vmaterial3 soon takes the shape of the foot, and the parts vthat are necessarily made larger than the Specication of Letters Patent.

Application med January e, 1915. serial No. 753.

ments a unitary whole. The joint' formed by this manner of unifying the upper and sole, besidesbeing waterproof, is continuous throughout and prevents or minimizes the likelihood of the upper pulling away from the sole. Moreover the reinforcements extending from the sole into the upper, support the limp fabric so that the shoe keeps its originalV and intended shape.

Referring more particularly to Fig. l of the drawings, the shoe comprises an upper having an outer ply of fabric 1 which is usually not suiiiciently rigid to be self-supporting and an inner ply 2 to serve as a' lining for the upper. The sole of the shoe comprises a flexible element 3 preferably made of rubber compound and formed with a peripheral groove extending from its edge inwardly. I prefer to construct this element of a ply 4 superposed on a ply 5, which are secured together throughout their contacting surfaces in the building up of the shoe upon the last, leaving only their margins separated to provide the peripheral groove 6 for receiving the inturned margins of the plies of fabric constituting the upper.

In building the shoe I first place the usual sole lining 7 upon the last. The ply L1 is then superposed thereon to serve as an insole for the shoe.` The margins of the upper are then. turned inwardly and secured upon this ply by means of rubber cement. After this has been accomplished the ply 5 is superposed on the ply i and may be secured thereto by rubber cement. This ply contacts with and extends beyond the inturned margins of the upper to which it is secured by rubber cement and serves the purpose of a welt vfor the shoe. The tap sole 8 and heel 9 may be of any desired material and secured to the welt in the usual manner, as by the stitching 10.

In the present instance I have shown two upper reinforcing members 11 and 12 preferably made from sheets 'of rubber compound, extending fronr the flexible sole elemont 3 at the toe and heel portions respectively. 'Ihese are cut from flat sheets according to a predetermined pattern. After the lining 2 is secured in position upon the 'last, these reinforcements are superposed is then brought over these reinforcements and secured at its margins within the groove 6, as already described.

In building the shoe I prefer to form the plies 1 and 5 constituting the flexible element 3, and the reinforcements 11 and 12 of plies of unvulcanized rubber compound and to apply a coa-ting of rubber cement between each of the superposed layers, not only at the jointure of the flexible element 3 with the shoe upper and with the reinforcing elements, but also throughout the entire superposed layers. Vhen the parts have been finally assembled, they are vulcanized in the ordinary manner.

It will thus be seen that a shoe made according to my invention will comprise a cloth upper having flexible vulcanized rubber reinforcements and a sole having a flexible element united to the upper and the reinforcements in a suitable manner to make of the sole and upper a substantially unified structure; the jointure between the upper and sole being waterproof and the parts being so uniformly bonded together throughout that the danger of their breaking apart will be reduced to a minimum. The vulcanized reinforcements will have sufcient flexibility to return to their normal positions if they happen to be distorted, and at the same time will afford ample reinforcement to maintain the limp fabric of the upper in its intended shape.

While I have preferred touse vulcanizable cement throughout the superposed layers of material, the unvulcanized rubber plies may be relied upon -to form the bond between themselves and adjacent plies, especially where any of the well known pressure-applying means is utilized in the manufacture of the shoe. I prefer however, to use cement for making the jointure'of the upper and sole as above explained, and to further secure the part-s at these points, the several plies may be secured together by the stitching 13.

There are several ways possible of securing the upper and sole together. Fig. 1 shows the outer ply 1 with its inturned edge terminating at the same point as the lining 2. The reinforcements 11 and 12 extend beyond the edges of the plies of fabric 1 and 2 to provide a margin for cementing or otherwise securing them to the walls of the groove 6. In this embodiment the outer ply .1 and lining 2 are sewed together by rows of stitching 14 and 15 which preferably just clear the edges of the reinforcements 11 and 12 respectively, and thereby coperate With the inturned margins of the upper to form pockets for retaining the reinforcements in place, This is especially advantageous Where no cement is applied to the reinforcing plies.

Figs. 2, 3 show other modifications and while they illustrate onlythe toe portion, it is obvious that the heel portions may be formed of similar constructions. Y

Fig. 2 shows a modifica-tion diEering from Fig. 1 in that the reinforcing sole extension 11 is extended within the groove 6 terminating at the same point as the plies 1 and 2. The inturned portion may here be relied upon for securing the reinforcing extension in position instead of the stitching described in connection with Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a modification differing from that of Fig. 2 in that the outer ply 1 extends beyond the inturned margin of the reinforcing extension 11 to provide va margin that may be cemented to the walls of the groove 6.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cloth top shoe, an upper having its lower portion comprised kof inner and outer plies of fabric, the inner ply serving as a lining and the outer ply as an outer wearing surface, and a sole having upper supporting extensions at the toe and heel portions respectively extending part Way around the sole, to form a box toe and counter respectively, said extensions being disposed between and in direct contact with'the plies and vulcanized to the sole to form a unitary whole. l

2`. In a cloth top shoe, an upper having its llower portion comprised of innerV and outer plies of fabric, the inner ply serving asa lining and the outer ply as an outer wearing surface, and a sole having an upper supporting extension at an end thereof extending for a substantial distance up the upper and of comparatively thick and stiff material in -relation to said upper, said extension being self-supportive and affording a stiffening and shaping means for the upper covered thereby while leaving the portions beyond each end thereof adjacent the sole inftheir original limp condition, said extension being disposed between the said plies and vulcanized thereto and to the sole to form a unitary whole.

Signed at New York, county of Newl York, State of New York, this 2nd day o-f January, 1915.

MYRON I-I. CLARK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

- Washington, D. G. 

